Archive for August, 2011
August 31, 2011
One of the great things about living in Florida (aside from the sandy beaches and palm trees) is the prospect of living on a golf course. Rather, in a house overlooking a golf course. For many people, such a living arrangement makes for an ideal situation. Tired from decades of looking out of a living room window only to see taxicabs and skateboarders, millions of people prefer to look outside and see a well-groomed fairway or a couple of people gently putting on a green. What most folks don’t consider, though, is the possible danger that such a situation presents.
Sure, with Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson playing a round or two in your background the most you’d have to worry about would be the occasional disturbance of paparazzi hoping to snap some photos of the hot-shot athletes. But if your neighbors golf anything like my grandmother, you should be worried about a lot more! There’s nothing “quaint” about golf-balls piercing porch awnings and shattering ceiling-high windows and continuing on into the house to destroy property. As any mulligan-seeking golfer will tell you, sometimes golf balls have a mind of their own, and while that may be the case, they won’t have to answer to you in a court. So you may be stuck handling the damage by yourself!
Most golfing communities operate in a manner such as this: once you purchase a condominium unit within the community, you become a registered member of the golf club—you pay the fees as part of your home ownership. Not only are the residents able to use the course, but so are their guests, and this can mean their nimble Bridge partners or their seventeen-year-old grandson who thinks that the glass panes which line the fairways are giant targets. Owning a property on a golf course exposes you to severe property damage.
Many golf club managers affirm that those who golf on their courses are supposed to notify the owners of any property which their “improving” golf game might damage. That being said, you’d be hard pressed to find a frustrated golfer trek over to a home and say “Excuse me, I just shattered your living room with my horrendous drive. Please send me any bills.” Many legal experts argue that when you purchase a home overlooking a golf course, you assume the associated risks. Similarly, if you buy a home next to a zoo, you can’t really complain to the city about the stench invading your property. It kind of comes with the territory.
To repair a shattered window may only run a couple of hundred dollars. But if you do this repeatedly, the out-of-pocket expenses start to add up. Many insurance policies have deductibles of $1,000 or more, and because each incident costs significantly less than that in repair costs, your insurance won’t be footing the bill. To protect yourself, talk to your insurance company before an accident such as property damage by golf ball. Know exactly what is covered and what the deductibles are. Also, talk to property managers about putting up netting around the condominiums to trap any stray golf balls that might otherwise end up in your lap—or your face.
If you feel that you have been injured by the wrongdoing of another, please contact the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 30, 2011
Nancy Grace famously penned Casey Anthony “Tot Mom” throughout the murder trial of the century this summer. Now it seems it may be more appropriate to call Anthony “Tort Mom,” for she has clearly—and admittedly—done wrong.
Multiple entities have come forth demanding money from Casey Anthony. No, the damages are not for the death of her daughter Caylee, of which she was acquitted earlier this summer. The reason for the requested financial compensation stems from the fact that Anthony misled police and search/rescue teams for months, instructing them on the “possible” whereabouts of her daughter Caylee, when she knew for a fact that Caylee lay deceased in a swamp ground near her parents’ home. Despite being found “Not Guilty” of the main charges of murder, manslaughter and neglect, Tort Mom was found guilty of misleading police and she was sentenced to serve four years in jail. She was released days later, however, having been given time served for the time she spent incarcerated during her trial and for good behavior. But the repercussions for her lying may just be getting started.
Texas Equusearch, and its founder Tim Miller, are suing Casey Anthony for $100,000.00, the amount they claim the search group spent during its naïve efforts to bring Caylee home. The group asserts that it spent money (as well as time and energy) looking for the little girl because of information given to them by Casey Anthony—information known to be false by Casey Anthony. Miller has said that other families of missing children had to conduct their searches without the help of Texas Equusearch, which allocated a great deal of itself to the search for Caylee Anthony, while her mother, Casey, knew she was nowhere to be found alive.
In addition to Texas Equusearch, Florida Sherriff’s detectives are asking to be recompensed by Tort Mom as well. They have asked the Court in Orange County, FL to demand that Anthony repay them the $293,123.77 that they spent searching for her daughter when she knew all along that her daughter would not be found in any of the places she told them (or Texas Equusearch) to look. The $293,123.77 is what Lt. Zambouros of Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the criminal investigation division’s work on this case added up to. Furthermore, state prosecutors are seeking compensation for the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement’s expenses through investigation totaling $71,939.56 and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation’s expenses which amounted to $10,645.38.
It may be the case that Anthony is found guilty of an intentional tort. That is, Anthony could possibly be found to have violated these groups’ legally recognized rights to freedom from deception by engaging in misrepresentation and fraud. While Anthony did not intend for a specific consequence of her deceptive stories, she did intend for quite the opposite (and equal) outcome: that the groups would find nothing based on her contributions, and that did end up being the case. As Newton’s Third Law argues, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” So based on Florida Tort Law and Isaac Newton’s third law, Casey Anthony may be up a creek (or down a creek, wherever she is).
Hopefully you’re never in a position to have to deal with a tortfeasor (wrongdoer) such as Casey Anthony, but if you do feel that you have experienced harm (whether it bodily, emotional or financial) due to the wrongdoing of another, please contact the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg. You may call us at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 29, 2011
Hundreds of years ago, the United States found itself serving as a prime catalyst for the industrial revolution which spanned to encompass both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. During this time of mammoth innovation, new frontiers were explored, production was expedited and the American workforce kicked into a higher gear than ever before. Advancements were made in many areas of culture (both ours and others’). Part of life during this time of extraordinary development was a legal culture that often sided with the heads of large corporations rather than the people doing the manual labor.
Many businesses on the rise involved tremendously dangerous working environments for employees. Coal mining regions and steel factories provided hostile and rough conditions in which men, women and children worked tirelessly to provide bread for their families. The industrial revolution was a proud chapter in our nation’s history, but it did not exist flawlessly. In such dangerous situations, injuries were commonplace and the medicine of the day was incomparable to that of modern times, so the consequences of the injuries often times proved catastrophic. If you were injured on the jobsite, the usual rebuttal to a complaint against the company you worked for sounded something like this: “You knew it was a dangerous job, so you can’t collect money for your injuries.” Also, if you were injured due to the negligence of another employee at the factory, you couldn’t sue the company for your injuries, despite how devastating they may have been.
Today that has changed. The law has retooled itself to serve the interests of the nation’s workers. Many jobs today are still dangerous, and there is a risk of danger in all aspects of life: from the knives we cut our bread with, to the cars we drive, to the cranes we operate on a job site. What has really developed over the years is our ability to protect ourselves using the law. If you are injured at work, the company operating the site at which you were injured may be held liable. If you are injured due to the negligence of another, they can be held accountable, even if you knew what you were doing – let’s say, driving – involved some degree of risk. The law exists to preserve order in society, and a large portion of that responsibility is to ensure compensation for injuries caused.
If you have been injured due to the negligence of another, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 26, 2011
So, what are torts? We hear a lot about torts. For example, a common part of today’s legal world involves issues of Tort Reform. No, that doesn’t refer to a revamping of your zoo’s tortoise exhibit. Incidentally, it could involve your zoo’s tortoise exhibit, if you injured yourself due to the wrongdoing of another at your zoo’s tortoise exhibit. But now we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Quite simply, a “tort” is a harmful act – a wrongdoing – performed by either an individual or a company.
Florida law has, through statute and precedent, established three basic areas of torts. These are intentional torts, negligent torts, and strict liability torts. The description of intentional torts is fairly self-evident. If someone (the plaintiff) sues on the grounds of an intentional tort, they claim that the defendant, the “tortfeasor,” as they are referred to, intended for the consequences of the wrongdoing which was committed, resulting in harm of the plaintiff. That is to say, the tort was executed intentionally, with the goal being a direct or indirect harming of the plaintiff.
The second area of torts is negligent torts. This area is one very common to the practice of personal injury law. To prove negligence on the part of the tortfeasor, four requirements must be met on the part of the plaintiff (or his/her legal team). To illustrate those requirements, let’s use the tortoise exhibit example. Say you were enjoying a day at the zoo, and while looking at the tortoise exhibit, you slipped on a wet floor which was not marked by a “Wet Floor” sign. As a result, you injured your hip and have to go to the doctor multiple times to assist with your recovery. You have a case against the zoo for your injury. In order to successfully receive compensation for your injury, you have to prove that 1) the zoo had a requirement to ensure the safety of those visiting the zoo, 2) the zoo failed to do so by neglecting to place a “Wet Floor” sign on the ground (or cleaning up the mess), 3) your injuries and damages were directly caused by the slip and fall at the exhibit, and 4) you must have an injury and damages.
The third area of tort law is that of strict liability. Florida is commonly referred to in legal circles as a “strict liability state.” Strict liability law often applies to product liability suits. Let’s say you went to a department store and bought a step-stool for your garage. Standing on the step-stool the following day, the stool breaks, and you fall and break your ankle. You may sue the product manufacturer for the injuries that you suffered as a result of the fall. Similar to that or negligent tort law, you must prove the following: 1) that the manufacturer had a responsibility to make the step-stool safe for the consumer, 2) that the manufacturer failed to do so, 3) that said failure was the cause of the fall which injured your ankle, and 4) you legitimately injured your ankle. The crucial distinction between this and negligent tort law is that because fault or negligence is not an issue in strict liability law. This means that you can sue on the grounds of strict liability, which means that the tortfeasor may be required to compensate you regardless of negligence.
If you have been injured due to the actions of another, whether at the zoo or not, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 25, 2011
The world we live in is different than it was 10 years ago, which was different than it was ten years before that, and so on and so forth. There are different opportunities available, both good and bad. More ways to order a shirt, more ways to ignore your mother-in-law, and more ways to get hurt.
Life used to be simpler. Back in the days of the cavemen, there were no formal structures, no electricity, and far less rules than there are today. If you wanted to protect yourself from the evils outside of your cave, you armed yourself with a club (and not a Callaway). Today, as you step outside of your well-constructed home, the world outside is filled with opportunities to get in your way. Sure, there are just as many positive attributes about today’s world as there are bad, but you don’t need protection from those. For protection, you don’t need a club today – not even a gun. You need the law. Today’s society is heavily dependent on the competency of the legal system, and those who operate within it.
You don’t pick up a newspaper without reading about the law. Every piece of news has a legal component of it. You sign contracts on a daily basis (whether you’re leasing a car or signing a credit card receipt) and you enter into verbal agreements all the time (whether you agree to pay a contractor or you tell your nephew you will pay him to mow the lawn).
Much of what happens in your day-to-day life is within your control, but some things are. Distracted drivers, negligent puddles on the floor, faulty products and even dishonest people are everywhere, and they cause damage every day. Make sure you know your rights. If you have been injured to the negligence of another, you need legal representation to help you ensure adequate compensation.
For more information, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com
rld we live in is different than it was 10 years ago, which was different than it was ten years before that, and so on and so forth. There are different opportunities available, both good and bad. More ways to order a shirt, more ways to ignore your mother-in-law, and more ways to get hurt.
Life used to be simpler. Back in the days of the cavemen, there were no formal structures, no electricity, and far less rules than there are today. If you wanted to protect yourself from the evils outside of your cave, you armed yourself with a club (and not a Callaway). Today, as you step outside of your well-constructed home, the world outside is filled with opportunities to get in your way. Sure, there are just as many positive attributes about today’s world as there are bad, but you don’t need protection from those. For protection, you don’t need a club today – not even a gun. You need the law. Today’s society is heavily dependent on the competency of the legal system, and those who operate within it.
You don’t pick up a newspaper without reading about the law. Every piece of news has a legal component of it. You sign contracts on a daily basis (whether you’re leasing a car or signing a credit card receipt) and you enter into verbal agreements all the time (whether you agree to pay a contractor or you tell your nephew you will pay him to mow the lawn).
Much of what happens in your day-to-day life in within your control, but some things are. Distracted drivers, negligent puddles on the floor, faulty products and even dishonest people are everywhere, and they cause damage every day. Make sure you know your rights. If you have been injured to the negligence of another, you need legal representation to help you ensure adequate compensation.
For more information, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com
August 24, 2011
To experience a rite of passage is to graduate to a new level of maturity and responsibility in the eyes of your community. That’s especially true of the New Jersey Graduated Driver’s License program. In New Jersey, during your first year of driving, you are restricted to driving only when an adult is present in the vehicle. After that, once you obtain a graduated driver’s license, as it’s referred to, you may drive with one passenger (maybe a friend) – and one passenger only – unless an adult is present in the vehicle.
This week, New Jersey lawmakers are considering whether to strengthen the law. Perhaps the penalties for violating the guidelines of the graduated license should be stricter. As of now, a $100 fine is given to a driver found in violation of the guidelines. However, no points are assessed to the drivers’ license and the penalty ends when the fine is paid. The lawmakers are revisiting the rule because this past week four teenagers died in a car crash driven by a 17-year old who was transporting himself and seven of his friends to a restaurant (the car only sat seven altogether). The teen driver had exceeded the restrictions of the license by six passengers (and the seats of the car by 1 body).
So, is a measly $100 enough of a preventative measure? Apparently not. $100 is a lot of money, but not in comparison to the four young lives that were ended in a reckless accident. The SUV swerved and flipped, tossing passengers from the vehicle. Only four of the eight inside were wearing seatbelts, which begs the question, should lawmakers also beef-up penalties for breaking that law as well?
Too many passengers in an inexperienced driver’s vehicles are dangerous for two reasons: 1) they cause distractions and 2) they add to the amount of fatalities in the event of a deadly crash, which there is a higher rate of when it comes to young drivers.
Pay attention on the road and follow the rules. It’s a small price to pay for your health and safety.
If you have been injured in an auto accident, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 23, 2011
If you drive down the highway and notice a catastrophic car accident with glass and metal everywhere, and a hood on fire, you can be sure that someone involved in the accident suffered – or is in the process of suffering – major injuries. But let’s say you are driving down a quaint suburban street and you notice a car merely bump into the rear-end of another car. You may not assume that the driver of the struck car suffered any injuries. Maybe they didn’t. But maybe they did. And maybe the injuries they sustained are going to change their life forever.
The latter train of thought, that the rear-ended driver may very well have been seriously injured, is one that is often disregarded by juries and lawyers for insurance companies. They often argue that if there isn’t significant damage to the vehicle involved, there is no way that there are substantial juries to the people inside the car. That argument is wrong. The impacts of whiplash cannot be understated. Isaac Newton wrote extensively about inertia, the idea that an object in motion will continue in motion, unless it is stopped. So, if you are driving in a car, and the car crashes into another car (or another car crashes into it), the car will come to a stop.
However, the driver of the car, and his/her head and neck, will jerk forward or backward violently, at the same speed that the car was travelling before the impact. Because of this, many injuries occur, even at low speeds of impact. A way to prevent extensive injuries from whiplash is to have adequate headrests the seats. Unfortunately, the Insurance Institute on Highway Safety reported that in 1995, about 91% of modern cars had headrest designs that were marginal, poor or bad. And, as every driver knows, many cars from 1995 are still on the road today.
If you would like to further discuss low speed auto accidents and injuries that may be caused by such crashes, feel free to call the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 22, 2011
Personal injury attorneys are plentiful for a reason – personal injuries are a common (unfortunately) part of life in our society. Our culture is founded in the notion that justice is sought through the law, both in criminal cases and in civil cases such as those stemming from personal injury cases. So, when you are injured due to the negligence of another, for example in an auto accident, it may be necessary and helpful for you to retain an attorney to fight on your behalf.
One of the most tangible ways that you can be compensated for your injuries is through the receipt of financial payments by the negligent party (usually their insurance companies). These may help to cover the damage to your car, the medical bills that you incurred as a result of the accident, and any future medical attention you may need.
Another area of compensation that you may be entitled to is for the pain and suffering you suffer as a result of the other person’s negligence. In Florida, in most car accident cases, in order to recover for pain and suffering you must have a permanent injury resulting from the accident. A permanent injury can be proven through your physician. Whether it is continuing pain, loss of range of motion or some other physical impairment, your physician must be able to qualify your injury. Usually, your physician will use the American Medical Association’s Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment to determine whether you have a permanent injury. This medical “dictionary” allows the physician to determine what % of your body is “impaired” as a result of the injury.
There are other areas of suffering, however, that are often overlooked in the midst of the chaos that ensues following a devastating auto accident. The first, the notion of Duties Under Duress, speaks to your ability (or lack thereof) to perform day-to-day tasks under the pressure and limitations instituted by the injuries you sustained from the auto accident. For example, if you are a mother and the injury has left you unable to care properly for your children (i.e., cook for them, drive them to school, dress them, etc.), you may be entitled to compensation for that.
Another area is that of Loss of Enjoyment. It’s defined pretty much by its name. If you were once an avid golfer, for example, and hip injuries from an auto accident have prevented you from playing the game you love, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss of the enjoyment of the game of golf. Let’s say you loved to paint on the weekends, and you suffered a wrist injury from an auto accident. You may be entitled to compensation for that loss of enjoyment as well.
When you are the victim of another’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation in many areas. If you have suffered a loss due to the actions of another and have questions regarding your injury, please contact the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 15, 2011
As our social lives become more dependent on the ever-increasing world of interactive media, the implications affect our physical lives, as well. This new toxic obsession brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “social suicide.”
Whatever it is, it can wait! Nothing is so important that you can’t wait to e-mail, text, tweet, post or blog about it until you get home (or somewhere else besides a car). We’re glad you’re reading our blog, but we sincerely hope you’re not doing it as you’re barreling down I-95, or even stopped at a red light on some back road. Text-messaging while driving is extremely dangerous. We receive many auto accident injury cases, the causes of which stem from a driver who was distracted due to text-messaging while “driving” their car.
Driving is a big responsibility, and your ability to do so satisfactorily should not be compromised by frivolous text-messaging. A recent study showed 18% of all deadly, distracted-driving car crashes in the United States was attributed to the use of cell-phones while operating a car. One would assume that with public acknowledgement of these horrors, distracted-driving accidents would begin to decrease. On the contrary, from 2005 to 2009 alone, cell-phone-related car crash fatalities increased by 60%.
Many states have heeded the call of responsibility and enacted laws against text messaging while driving. As of this summer, 34 states have passed such laws, the most recent being Nevada, Maine, Indiana and North Dakota. Results of these laws have proved wildly beneficial. In studies conducted in New York and Connecticut (two states which have enforce these laws), it was found that there was a decrease of almost 65% in distracted-driver auto accident—compare that to the national average increase of 60%! We encourage our leaders here in Florida to join the 34 states which are making a positive difference in the lives of their residents.
A study showed that at any given time during daylight hours in the United States, over 800,000 people are texting and driving simultaneously. Put down the phone. Please. Bring that number down to 799,999. Help ensure safety for yourself and those you share the road with.
If you have been injured in an auto accident, please call the Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
August 13, 2011
Take Driving Lessons From Your Grandmother!
A new study conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the
University of Pennsylvania may make you second-guess yourself as you begin
to honk and yell at the elderly driver in front of you.
The study includes car accident data from the years 2003 to 2007 involving
more than 215,000 children. According to the study, when the children were
being driven by their parents, the rate of injury was 1.05%. In contrast,
when the children were being driven by their grandparents, the rate of
injury was merely .7%.
There are a number of theories as to why the children’s bodily health fared
better with their elder relatives. Some experts say that, despite the fact
that parents are better equipped to fasten safety harnesses around small
children than are grandparents, grandparents are the ones who take the extra
care to ensure that their grandchild arrives at their destination safely.
That’s not to say that parents don’t care about their children’s welfare-it
just means that old pinch on the cheek at family reunions goes a long way.
So, why do senior citizens have a bad reputation when it comes to driving?
Well, sure, there are some seniors that are simply awful drivers. But there
are some youngsters who are awful drivers, too. Even the people in between
can mess up from time to time. Don’t believe all the criticism you hear
about the elderly-they may just end up saving your life.
If you happen to be unfortunate enough to experience a car accident injury
due to the fault of another-please contact the Law
Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at
daronberg@aronberglaw.com
